Record-breaking bowl of fried rice ended up as pig feed in China

Oct 28, 2015, 01:44 IST
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Agencies

Yangzhou has been disqualified by the Guinness World Record officials for the inedible and unhygienic preparation

Beijing: The Chinese city that broke the world record for the largest serving of fried rice has been disqualified after the Guinness World Record officials learned much of the rice was inedible and used as pig feed.

Yangzhou, in east China, surpassed the record October 22 by cooking 4,200 kg of the dish and distributing it mostly to school for students to eat for free, according to Yangzhou’s tourism bureau, which supervised the event.

However, shortly after the record was announced, local media reported pictures that showed the rice being loaded into garbage trucks and being sent to pig farms.

Later, it was confirmed that approximately 330 pounds (150 kg) of the rice had gone to waste, which led to disqualification of the group from the record attempt.

Rules violatedAs per the Guinness team, all food items must be entirely edible and should be prepared in a hygenic way, fit for general consumption. Otherwise, they would not accept it. After the attempt, the food item must be divided and distributed or donated for general consumptions.

The record attempt cost the city around $22,000 (approximately R14.3 lakh). The record-breaking event had been witnessed by Guinness officials.

The organiser had roped in 300 cooks to prepare the dish in individual woks, before combining it into one large bowl. But, a portion of the rice was not considered edible, after it reportedly spent four hours in the cooker.

Yangzhou fried rice is the city’s signature dish, internationally renowned for its combination of things such as eggs, chicken, ham, shrimp, carrots, peas and several other ingredients.

The record attempt had been held in an effort to celebrate local cuisine and bolster Yangzhou’s reputation among foreign tourists.

The organisers claimed that fried rice was invented in Yangzhou and is the most popular Chinese fast food dish around the world.